US Open Day 14: The Space Cowboy

Curtain Call

Player: Novak Djokovic

Nation: Serbia

Age: 22

Current Ranking: #4

Tour Page: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Novak-Djokovic.aspx
Player Website: http://www.novak-djokovic.com

Today's Match: loss to Roger Federer (Switzerland) in straight sets

The Djoker played brilliantly today - well enough to beat just about anyone. Just not Fed.

One has to wonder at this point what path lies ahead for Djokovic. I still put him a notch above Murray, no matter what the rankings say. But he's clearly not in the Federer/Nadal class yet. He is a year younger than Nadal so one would think he could outlast him and pick up a Slam here and there. But he must be a little nervous about the rise of del Potro, two years younger than he. Let's face it, even Roger will have his hands full tomorrow if JMDP plays as well as he did today. Will Novak win his share or is he destined to follow a Hewitt/Safin path: a great player caught between two power generations? I'm guessing the next year will be a good one for him. But beyond that, who knows?

Hats off to Kim Clijsters, of course. But Caroline Wozniacki is way cool. How many people give a speech - ANY speech - in English, Danish and Polish?

Men's final on a Monday afternoon - what a stinker!